Starfield ShepherdStarfield Shepherd | Art by Marta Nael

Edge of Eternities is a wild world full of dangerous creatures, mysterious happenings, and also not-super-strong mechanics.

Spacecraft, stations, and Lander tokens are interesting but slow concepts that won't translate very well over to the fast paced nature of Competitive Commander. Warp may have a bit of an argument to stand on, given that its all about cheating on your mana, but the jury is out.

Regardless of this, lets wander into space and see what cards from Edge of Eternities are still potentially playable in different cEDH decks.

For this edition, thanks to the lower power level (and lower amount of cards that would be present here otherwise), I’ve widened the purview to include some more deck-specific cards if I anticipate they’ll be especially impactful for that deck.

White

Starfield ShepherdStarfield Shepherd

Starting off strong. Starfield Shepherd has some of the highest potential and upside of any card in the set while also being applicable to the most decks.

By using its warp cost, one can quickly and easily search up any of the powerful one-drop creatures which have become more and more popular in the format with time. MockingbirdMockingbird, Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel, Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer, Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise, and more are worth grabbing. Heck, it tutors basic Plains (in a deck that is interested in playing one) too.

Thanks to the warp mechanic, after this card leaves the battlefield, you’ll get to cast it again at a later time, albeit for very the large cost of . A small flyer that tutors is, nine times out of ten, not going to do it for us in return for that cost. Starfield Shepherd is largely about getting to search your library for an impactful spell in return for two mana, but the ability to run it back a second time adds a lot of grindy upside in specific late game scenarios.

Lightstall InquisitorLightstall Inquisitor

Lightstall Inquisitor offers a unique disruption angle to white decks for the extremely cheap price of . The thing that draws me to this card over other similar effects in the past is that it impacts all of your opponents at once in return for such a low cost.

The question that has to be answered is “Is this disruptive enough?” Exchanging one mana to tax three mana from opponents (or make a land enter tapped) can represent a huge tempo swing.

However, since the opponents get to choose the card that's being taxed, it can be difficult to imagine Lightstall Inquisitor always having the idealized effect. It's also a terrible top-deck in most scenarios.

I'm really on the fence about this, as no matter what's in your opponent's hand, we would believe that since its included in their incredibly tight cEDH list, having a mana added to any of the cards or making a land enter tapped could impact their game plan significantly - or it could be worse than useless.

I would love to see this in something like Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces (a classic) or other more traditional Stax decks - especially if it can be paired with a flickering effect like Phelia, Exuberant ShepherdPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd to maximize the taxing effects - and suddenly, if we're bumping the price of three or four cards over the course of the game, it sounds much better.

Pinnacle StarcagePinnacle Starcage

When the board is clogged up with small creatures and artifacts as it always seems to be these days, Pinnacle Starcage represents a solution for white decks looking to catch up and keep their stranglehold through more staxy means.

The activated ability doesn’t appeal much - given that it costs a whole eight mana - but there’s also a world where getting to put 20 power onto the board could move you towards winning the game (obviously).

I would expect this to be a bit of a meta play. If a local shop has a lot of small ball stuff going on, slot in Pinnacle Starcage. Playing against Blue Farm all the time? Maybe not.

Blue

Mm'menon, the Right HandMm'menon, the Right Hand

MM’menon has some cute single-color potential, using it’s Future SightFuture Sight-like ability to combo with Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top. Add in a cost-reducing effect like Etherium SculptorEtherium Sculptor and you can go through your whole deck in one fell swoop.

A reasonable build for this Commander would demand a heavy amount of artifacts in the list itself to make it work at its best, which sounds difficult. The bar to clear is "be at least as good as Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer," which could be shockingly hard for this little Jellyfish.

However, if the right mix of powerful spells, utility artifacts (that will all tap to cast more utility artifacts) and Good Blue Stuff can be found, Mm’menon has - thanks to his combo potential - at least the ceiling of being a defensible mono-color Commander to break out at the LGS. I'm always down for more fun and silly and different options such as that.

Black

Zero Point BalladZero Point Ballad

I’m always on the lookout for new, interesting board wipes that may have cEDH-level upside. While I’m not convinced that Zero Point Ballad checks that box, let's at least run through the scenarios.

For two mana, the board is wiped of all creatures with one toughness - capturing a sneaky amount of the value creatures in the format. At three mana, you get everyone with two toughness… a weird inbetween that doesn’t net much of an upgrade. Three toughness feels like the sweet spot, capturing then a large portion of the format’s best commander options… but it costs four mana.

The obvious payoff here is the ability to pay seven mana to wipe the board and also reanimate something, but given the usual lack of huge-bomb-level creatures in the format, I can’t imagine a place where this will ever be relevant enough to play over the classics like Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge and Fire CovenantFire Covenant. A good option to keep in mind, at least!

Red

Weftstalker ArdentWeftstalker Ardent

Are there any other Malcolm, Keen-Eyed NavigatorMalcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator pilots left out there? If there are, the Creature-hack plan believers may have finally been proven right, years later.

With an extremely cheap warp cost of , getting Weftstalker Ardent into play is trivially easy for most Malcolm decks, especially the Temur versions with its king's ransom of creature tutor spells. The hard part is then, of course, getting Wefstalker Ardent changed into a Pirate, without which this card is basically useless. That was always my complaint with the hack packages in these decks. If one can change him into a Pirate, you simply win the game as soon as you have another creature or artifact (usually a Treasure) enter the battlefield.

On the other hand, this can be more attractive than the traditional Glint-Horn BuccaneerGlint-Horn Buccaneer plan given that one doesn't have to get to attacking in order to win. Are the other applications of this card beyond maybe being a side-grade piece in the likes of Ob Nixilis? If so, let me know!

Devastating OnslaughtDevastating Onslaught

I'll admit, I'm not the most versed on common and recent Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror cEDH plans. But, if you have no clue what the deck usually does, I can at least tell you this: It aims to create a ton of copies of Etali all in one massive storm turn, having all opponents exile a bunch of interesting cards before eventually finding a way to win the game, either using its own cards or its opponents'.

Devastating Onslaught, then, asks an interesting question: Do they want an Etali clone effect that, if Etali is already in play and Onslaught is cast from your hand, can have explosive results, creating something like two or more Etalis and hopefully snowballing the game immediately? Or are they too afraid of the extremely real downside of including a spell that is a complete whiff when revealed by Etali at the most vulnerable of times?

I'm happy I'm not the person who has to decide that, but I do believe that one card being a dud is probably fine when in many other scenarios it represents pure gas.

Tannuk, Steadfast SecondTannuk, Steadfast Second

Any takers for a Sneak AttackSneak Attack varietal in the Command Zone? While I can’t think of any immediate and powerful applications on a cEDH level, getting to sneak things into play - both creatures and artifacts - for a turn at a time seems like it could be powerful enough to produce results.

The most relevant thing here is that you're still casting cards from your hand, letting you cheat huge creatures with even bigger cast-or-enters effects that require the card to come from your hand.

Large artifacts are a bit less good to cheat in than large creatures, given that artifacts are usually gradual advantage machines rather than immediate ones, but we can find the juice. Of course, warping a card also comes with the upside of effectively getting to have it twice - once for its cheated cost and once for its “real” cost.

Is that relevant with spells that are grand enough to want to cheat in? Probably not. But! New red hotness searchers, give this one a shot for me!

Green

Frenzied BalothFrenzied Baloth

I can’t believe I get to put a card like Frenzied Baloth on a list like this. As the format has slowed, green creature decks have only gained ground, especially with the re-emergence of Thrasios and other Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle decks.

If you want to protect those creature spells, Frenzied Baloth is the balm to counterspell woes while having a bit more range than the likes of Allosaurus ShepherdAllosaurus Shepherd and costing less than, say, Prowling SerpopardProwling Serpopard.

The secret upside of this card is the ability to punch through the protection granted by The One RingThe One Ring, which is shockingly relevant for decks that care about being able to damage their opponents on crucial turns. Is this combo worth the entry cost of GG? Overall, I would guess no, but I still would love to try this out in a few different green decks to see how drawing it and having it in play feels in the average game.

I think this is one that will surprise me in the long run.

Icetill ExplorerIcetill Explorer

The fun part about there finally being a huge lands-matters commander in cEDH is that one can finally ask the question every dang set: Is this a LumraLumra card? It says "land" on it, it must be a Lumra card!

Think of how many lands you can play from the graveyard and also mill cards every time you do it! I kid, but all the Lumra experts are telling me this one is a slam dunk, so I’m putting it here on the list. Getting to play extra lands is always good, putting more cards in your graveyard is actually phenomenal. I know this card has to be unreal cracked with Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko, letting you do some cool stuff with your lands (especially Dryad ArborDryad Arbor).

Go forth and have fun, Bear bros.

Horizon ExplorerHorizon Explorer

Another Lumra card? Yay! I just didn’t want this bug to feel left out when his other buddy got to join the party.

LanderLander tokens seem to be uniquely suited for Lumra, given that the deck cares about lands so much. I’m not sure how often Horizon Explorer will be producing them, but I imagine I wouldn’t want my Lumra opponent to have this creature in play.

Add in the extremely relevant ability to have your lands come in untapped (I do wish it was a trigger) and this one seems like another solid addition to everyone’s favorite mono-green menace. I anticipate this won’t last in the list long, though.

Colorless

Tezzeret, Cruel CaptainTezzeret, Cruel Captain

Here we go. A colorless planeswalker that tutors up artifacts (including all of the most played ones in cEDH), can untap your artifacts (helping ramp) while being able to keep himself alive by the amount of loyalty added to him through natural gameplay patterns in cEDH? Holy moly, I think I’m in love with this guy.

Three colorless is a comically easy casting cost for any Competitive deck to achieve, thanks to the likes of all of the artifacts that Tezzeret loves to have surrounding him. Heck, since he’s colorless, he’s easily castable off of just lands alone without having to worry about color restrictions.

While I wish he had a “real” (i.e., relevant for cEDH) ultimate ability to dream about, his first two abilities alone (especially his second) lead me to believe that a lot of pilots will be happy to put a planeswalker into their deck for possibly the second time ever.

The EndstoneThe Endstone

There are a few decks in cEDH that look to cheat huge artifacts in play - Bello, Bard of the BramblesBello, Bard of the Brambles & Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw come to mind - that I imagine would love to have another option in the “grind” category in their toolbox.

Endstone is an extremely powerful, extremely expensive artifact that also lends card advantage to commanders outside of the color pie that would normally give it to them. I would love to put this card into play in Magda, suddenly making my topdeck one-drop Dwarf also cantrip me into more one-drop Dwarves. How delightful.

For more normal decks that are already on a Goblin WelderGoblin Welder plan, The Endstone represents an attractive midrange-adjacent strategy that can buffer your life total and keep your hand stocked up. However, I imagine that Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel will remain the ideal first target for all decks that include black. Wait, buffer life total?

The final line, “At the beginning of your end step, your life total becomes half your starting life total, rounded up,” may read as a downside, but it has the potential to heal. Endstone's controller's life total will always be reset to half of their starting life total (20), no matter where they're at, rather than what most people seem to assume happens, which is getting cut in half continually. Worth a note!

Lands

The Planet Cycle (Uthros, Titanic GodcoreUthros, Titanic Godcore; Adagia, Windswept BastionAdagia, Windswept Bastion; Kavaron, Memorial WorldKavaron, Memorial World; Susur Secundi, Void AltarSusur Secundi, Void Altar; Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven)

Man, these cards are all so cool and almost none will make an impact on the greater cEDH metagame.

12+ power being needed to put these lands into action, in addition to their floor of being enters-tapped-single-color-lands, gets me sad and thinking about what could have been. Of course, there are exceptions.

I would guess that Lumra, with its huge number of creatures, could take time off to make Evendo, Waking Haven work. Maybe there are Thrasios or Kinnan builds out there desperate (and large) enough to get the job done.

Kavaron, Memorial World offers a sorcery-speed tapping outlet for Magda, which isn’t something to scoff at. Susur Secundi, Void Altar could see play in something like Korvold if he were still around terrorizing tables.

I’ll admit it, I'm disappointed that this feels so-close-yet-so-far for cEDH. However, I think if they were good enough, I would be sick of a second Cradle, a Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy, and other horrors being unleashed upon the format in no time at all.

So, I will remain happy that they are not what they could have been and instead are quite responsible, yet really cool, designs.

Coming Back to Earth (or Zendikar, or Something)

Our time spent in the edge has been enjoyable to me; Edge of Eternities is full of excellent designs and fun flavor that still just doesn't quite make the cut in competitive Commander play.

However, as the drum I've beat time and again - this should be the norm for Standard-power-level sets. If a Standard set is giving cEDH a pile of playables, or if we're getting several sets in a row that feature plenty of them, that is more of a problem in and of itself.

I will admit, I was hoping that this set that I loved the flavor of would feature a bit more cards that I would want to play long-term, but we don't all get our wishes every time, ey? Thanks for reading.

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